Lemoto said the tournament was held at the largest private school in the United States.
"When the girls arrived in Hawaii we actually got to use the pool as a training venue before the tournament so the girls could get into it. The senior girls offered us a tour of the school and spoke about when Barack was there," he said.
"It was a pretty incredible experience for the girls."
Tauranga Taniwha arrived in Hawaii determined to make the most of a great development opportunity as a build-up to the national tournament later this year.
"After several months of fundraising, with big thanks to Pak'n Save and Mills Reef for their support, the tournament saw the girls playing in new surroundings, with all their games in outdoor pools and against teams from USA, Hawaii, Australia and New Zealand," Lemoto said.
The girls made it through their pool rounds undefeated before winning their quarter-final against a team from California. Despite the huge amount of physicality the Americans put into the game, Tauranga came away with a big win to set up that memorable semifinal against the only Australian team in the competition, the New South Wales Devils.
Pre-tournament favourites North Harbour stood in Tauranga's way to clinch the title and they proved too strong in taking the final out 7-4.
"North Harbour are probably the strongest club at juniors in New Zealand and this was the fourth time they had been over to Hawaii as a club. They were seeded number one and we were not seeded," Lemoto said.
"It is a reflection of how much water polo is growing in New Zealand that we met North Harbour in the final.
"We are pretty confident that with a bit of extra training we will get a chance to have another crack at them at the nationals in Wellington in December."
Tauranga Taniwha team:
Ashleigh Keach, Bella Broadmore, Ellie Smith, Pearl McNeilly, Ashlee Lemoto, Lana Beck, Millie Quinn, Charlotte Narby, Nicole McLaren, Ella Rutten, Sacha Branden. Coaches: Rob Lemoto, Matt Valentine.
